Lexington Parks - Henry A. Tandy Centennial (formerly Cheapside)

Henry A. Tandy Centennial Park (251 W. Main St.)

Location - formerly Cheapside Park, downtown, near Phoenix Park

Playground? no

Trails? N/A, sidewalks

Other? pavilion

    On a snowy day, we ventured downtown to hit up Tandy and Phoenix Parks. We didn't stay long at either place, but it was fun to be in a different setting in a different season. Usually, snow to me means staying inside, if possible, but we're learning to embrace being outdoors in all season.  The old courthouse is now a visitor center of sorts, and I actually saw a former co-worker going inside to eat lunch. 

Snowflakes!

(Note: We visited all 88 LFUCG parks in the span of a Covid year -- mid-March 2020 to February 2021. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here)

When I Feel Like It and When I Don't

When I feel like it
    and when I don't,

        I will praise You

You are worthy of my praise

    regardless of my mood

       or my circumstances 

     

It may feel rainy

    and cloudy

        but the sun has not stopped shining

Sometimes it's pure joy

    to memorize Scripture

and other times,

    it's a discipline --

        putting in the time day by day

        moving forward step by step

        strengthening my muscles

        renewing my mind        

        learning new rhythms

        continuing with repetitions

            even when it feels...repetitious

        persevering through the hills and valleys

        memorizing on the sunny and rainy days of my heart

        

This is when the habit-forming

    isn't as exciting as it was on Day One

This is when it'd be easy to skip a day

    and then another

    and then a month

    and I'll look back and wonder how I got off track

You are worthy of my efforts

    regardless of my mood

        or my circumstances

So I keep plowing the ground

    of hiding Your Word in my heart

        when it's easy

            and when it's not

        when it's joy-filled

            and when it's not

        when I'm doing well

            and when I'm not

        when I feel like it 

            and when I don't

Lexington Parks - Oakwood

Oakwood Park (1050 Briarwood Drive)

Location - off Georgetown Road north of New Circle, near Highlands Park

Playground? yes, two small ones

Trails? no

Other? open field, basketball court

This park is kind of surprising. It doesn't look like much when you pull into the parking lot, but there's a lot of land to wander (although I'll admit I didn't feel quite as free to explore as I would in, say, Shillito). There's also a playground with parallel obstacles to race a friend. I don't think there's another playground like that in Lexington. It's mostly monkey-bar-type obstacles, which was great for Carter.

Here's the playground you see from the parking lot

Here's the tree and field area. Calvin liked this tree and requested a picture of it.

And here are the upper-body parallel obstacles

Calvin has recently conquered the monkey bars!

He likes finding a way to climb on top

(Note: We visited all 88 LFUCG parks in the span of a Covid year -- mid-March 2020 to February 2021. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Lexington Parks - Beaumont Preserve

Beaumont Preserve (2020 Allegheny Way)

Location - the open area between Rosa Parks Elementary and the Cardinal Run Park trail

Playground? no, but it connects to the Rosa Parks playground when school is not in session

Trails? yes, paved

Other? no

On a windy day, we started by playing at the playground until another family came, and then the three big boys ran ahead and discovered a swampy area to explore while Little Man took his time along the path.

Love that hair!

Making a "bridge" of sorts with those rocks

And the walking paths that link up with the Cardinal Run paths. We love the Beaumont trail system!

(Note: We visited all 88 LFUCG parks in the span of a Covid year -- mid-March 2020 to February 2021. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Ten Reasons Why I Memorize Scripture

It's easy to get caught up in the "what" and "how" of Scripture memorization, but I never want to lose sight of the "why." 

I'll start with a less-spiritual reason:

• extrinsic motivation (rewards and other people). Knowing that I'm leading a Facebook Scripture Memory group of 300+ people and that the February Check-In post was coming up, I was motivated to get myself into gear and make some progress.  Having an accountability partner will do this, too. For our boys, we reward them with periodic ice cream sundaes as they make progress, and they're currently working toward earning a full scholarship to Scripture Memory Camp (if Covid allows).  Since God's Word does not return empty but accomplishes what He desires (Isaiah 55:11), even if our motives aren't entirely pure, the Holy Spirit is free to move once His Word is in us!

And here are the ten more-spiritual reasons why I memorize Scripture, in no particular order:

1. because He tells me to. He tells us to keep the Book of the Law always on our lips and to meditate on it day and night so that we may be careful to do everything written in it (Joshua 1:8). This verse is often skipped over to go to the more popular "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged..." (Joshua 1:9).  If His "Book of the Law" is going to be always on our lips, we need to have it in us.

2. because I love Him.  One way that I can demonstrate my love for God is to spend time poring over His very words/Word to me. "Oh, how I love Your law. I meditate on it all day long (Psalm 119:97)."      

3. because it is the one offensive weapon in our arsenal. Of all the defensive armor listed in Ephesians 6, "the sword of the Spirit...is the word of God."  If I'm going to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5), I'm going to need to know His Word.  And we are quick to dismiss books like Deuteronomy as less relevant, but Jesus' three rebukes to Satan are all from Deuteronomy.  Jesus took time to memorize Scripture; so should I.   

4. because it allows me to meditate on His Word (Psalm 1:2). When I taught music at a Christian school and we were learning the Seeds of Courage Scripture songs for the spring program, one student commented, "This song keeps getting stuck in my head!" I told her, "That's meditating on Scripture! I'm not going to apologize for that." When we memorize Scripture and mull over the words and repeat them often, we're able to really savor the meaning of the verse.

5. because it prepares me to share with others and pray Scripturally for others. This helps us to "be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2)" and to "equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17)." Many verses are "familiar" to us, but if we have committed them to memory, we will be more likely to share with others.  This is both useful for people who are not yet Christians and for those who are strong or weak in their faith. Of course, we don't want to just slap on a Bible verse, but we do want to think and speak and pray Biblically, which is a natural by-product of memorizing Scripture.

6. because it's a worthy investment. Only two things are eternal - people (1 Corinthians 15:53-55) and God's Word (1 Peter 1:24-25).  These are the only two things worth investing in.

7. because it causes the Word to come alive. It really is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). I've shared a bit of my story how Scripture memory was the catalyst in giving me a love for Scripture. When I started intentionally memorizing verses as an adult several years ago, I wasn't reading my Bible much and definitely not studying it. After six months of memorizing two verses a month, though, the Holy Spirit ignited a fire in me and a passion for His Word that I have not "recovered" from. As I memorize and read and study more, I find myself constantly making connections in Scripture. Every verse reminds me of another verse that gives richness and context to the first.

8. because it gives the Holy Spirit access to convict me. Every morning at our Christian school, we would say the pledge to the Bible, including this part from Psalm 119:11: I will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.  I've shared one of the most convicting verses I've memorized is that love isn't "irritable" (1 Corinthians 13:5). The Holy Spirit will bring this to mind when I am quick to point the finger at someone being irritating, and the finger will point back at me that I am being irritable, and I can instead choose to love.

9. because it renews my mind. Paul exhorts us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), and I can think of no better way to renew my mind than to have His very words in me, guiding my steps, encouraging me, convicting me, and challenging me.  

10. because I have it when I need it for encouragement or prayers. Yes, we have Google. Yes, we have the Bible app. Nothing can replace having the Word IN me, though, when I need it. I find myself praying, "When I am afraid, I will trust in You (Psalm 56:3)," and "You tell me to ask for wisdom (James 1:5), so I'm asking." I remember roaming the empty aisles of the grocery store before the Covid lockdown last March (which turned out to be my last time in the grocery store!), and on repeat, I sang outloud (because I needed to hear myself), "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea (Psalm 46:1-2)."

Those are my main reasons. Why do you memorize Scripture?

--OFFICIAL FEBRUARY CHECK-IN POST--

300+ of my friends (and friends of friends) are committing to take a step forward in their Scripture memory journey during 2021! This is soooo exciting and an answer to prayer! 

Most of you will be posting in our Facebook group, but if for whatever reason you are not on Facebook, you can also join in by reading these encouragement posts every Sunday afternoon and checking in during the last week of the month. 

To be entered in this month's giveaway ($25 gift card to Kroger or something comparable if there's not one in your area), you need to post a comment in our Facebook group OR on this blog post with the following 2-3 things before midnight February 28th:

1. Scripture memory goal for 2021 (if you haven't already posted this at some point). 

Here's a post on the different types of Scripture memory goals 

and on setting a S.M.A.R.T. Scripture memory goal. 

If you still don't know, I'd suggest the goal of one or two verses per month.

2. What verse(s) you memorized this month. 

3. Verification of your memory work in one of two ways: 

either post a video of your recitation from memory (can be in a separate post)

OR list the name of the person you recited your verse(s) to. 

If you choose the second option, 

please wait to post until you have already done this!

(past tense - I recited..., 

not future tense - I will recite...)

Lexington Parks - Gardenside/Pine Meadows

Pine Meadows Park (1631 Tazwell Dr) 

Location - in the Mason Headley area, near Gardenside Park

Playground? yes (very small)

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? basketball court

We were in the area, so we drove over to this park (and I actually got confused when I thought this was Wolf Run Park, but this one was a lot smaller). We walked around the paved trail but didn't stay very long.

///

Gardenside Park (1835 Yorktown Rd) 

Location - in the Gardenside area, near Alexandria

Playground? yes 

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? basketball court, creek, shelter, old tennis court, exercise stations

    We love this park! It's not too far from where we live, and it's small and easy to manage with young kids. When our oldest two were small, I would come here when I was the only adult because I was intimidated by the size and crowds of Shillito. What we discovered this time around was the creek and springs area.

[3/5/21 update: We returned to Gardenside in January and were able to play on the playground then. Unfortunately, the playground has since been torn down because of sewer issues. I added some pictures at the bottom of this post]

I have pictures of the big two brothers in this same tree when they were small, so I was getting a bit nostalgic taking these pictures. 

2015

Carter (3) and Calvin (1)

2021

Cooper (2) and Colson (1)

 

Carter (9), Calvin (6), Cooper (2), Colson (1)

Here's the natural spring that we had never noticed before. There's an informational sign explaining a bit about it

They always love these bridges!

Colson humoring me by sitting in this funky tree

All of them enjoyed balancing on these posts around the playground

I'm going to miss this sweet little playground!

The boy loves throwing rocks into the water!

Here's the information about the spring. This is one of several in town -- McConnell Springs, Clay's Spring, and Preston's Spring. There's also a small natural spring at Dogwood Park.

(Note: We have visited 50+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid (and plan to visit the rest by March 2021). These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Lexington Parks - Mary Todd

(yes, there are only 3 boys at the sign -- the other one didn't want to leave the rock in the background)

Mary Todd Park (525 Rogers Road) 

Location - off Paris Pike, adjacent to Mary Todd Elementary

Playground? yes (one at the playground, one at the school)

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? basketball court, baseball field

    We spent a considerable amount of time at this park. When we arrived, the main park playground was occupied, so we walked across the street to the playground at Mary Todd Elementary. We had a ball in the van, so they played here awhile.

That tongue action!

Climbing boys!

My mom would say, "You're making Mimi nervous!"

Then, we headed back to the main park area and walked on the path that crossed the creek. It reminded us a bit of the bridge and creek at Wellington Park.

The big boys making up new games like "How far can you jump?" Oh, the creativity that has come from Covid days!

The playground was still occupied, so I made up a soccer game using the posts from this scoreboard as our goal. I'm pretty sure I won, thanks to my middle school soccer days!

The little boys played by the wagon, and then we all had a snack. The sky was so pretty this evening!

Someone always ends up crying...

Here we are, wondering if the people playing at the playground will ever leave. It's so weird to be avoiding people so much during these Covid days.

Finally -- it's ours!

This was a fun little train area that we haven't seen at any other parks.

This was one of those playgrounds where I could relax without worrying too much about the little boys -- they could navigate the slides by themselves, and there weren't many high openings. This also meant that it was a good park to play Carter and Calvin's favorite game of having me chase them. "You have to tag us each 5 times before we go." This playground was set up well for that game, and through trickery and my awesome speed (ha!), I was able to tag them enough that we could go home.

This is what I call "the snurl" (which I realized just now after trying to look it up that it is not actually a word)

There's a smile!

4 boys, a playground, and a sunset

(Note: We have visited 50+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid (and plan to visit the rest by March 2021). These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here)